The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost – August 30, 2025

“Let mutual love continue.”
That’s how the passage from Hebrews begins—
not with doctrine, not with warning,
but with a simple, urgent plea:
Let love keep going.

And then it unfolds—
Welcome the stranger.
Remember the imprisoned.
Honor the marriage covenant.
Live free from greed.
Trust that Christ is the same—yesterday, today, forever.

It’s not a checklist.
It’s a way of being.
A way of living that places others first,
that sees Christ not only in the sanctuary,
but in the street, the cell, the forgotten place.

Jesus echoes this in Luke.
He’s at a dinner party, watching people scramble for seats of honor.
And He tells a story—
not about etiquette,
but about the kingdom.

“When you are invited,” He says,
“take the lowest place.”
And when you host,
don’t invite those who can repay you—
invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, the outcast.

This is not just social advice.
It’s a spiritual reordering.
A table turned upside down.
A kingdom where humility is exalted,
and generosity is not transactional,
but transformational.

So today—
Where are we seated?
Where are we hosting?
Are we clinging to status, or making space for grace?

Hebrews reminds us:
Do not neglect to do good.
Do not forget to share what you have.
These are the sacrifices that please God.

And Jesus reminds us:
The banquet of heaven is not reserved for the powerful.
It is open to the humble,
the hungry,
the ones who never expected an invitation.

So let mutual love continue.
Let the table be widened.
Let the seats be rearranged.
And let our lives reflect the One
who is always the same—
always welcoming,
always healing,
always calling us lower,
so that others may rise.

Amen.